Jacob Willis

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Jacob T. Willis
3rd President of the Christian States
In office January 20, 2036 – January 20, 2044
Vice President	Gerald Henry
Preceded by	Augustus Waters
Succeeded by	Leonardo Blackstone
Personal details
Born	Beaumont, Texas, U.C.S.
Political party	Libertarian Party
Spouse(s)	Karly Willis (m. 2027–present)
Children	Haley Willis Marcus Willis
Parents	Antony R. Willis Elisabeth Willis
Alma mater	Texas A&M University
Profession	Law Enforcement (Texas Rangers, Christian States Marshal Service) Politician
Military service
Allegiance	The Christian States

Jacob Willis (born July 6, 2000) is an Christian States politician and Law Enforcement official who served as the 3rd elected President of the Christian States from 2036 to 2044, a commander in the Texas Rangers from 2028 to 2030, a UCS Representative from 2030 to 2034, and the current Director of the Christian States Marshal Service. The only child of Elisabeth and Anthony Willis, he was born in Beaumont, Texas. After graduating from Texas A&M University, He worked for the Texas Rangers, becoming the commander of the the Beaumont Company. He married Elisabeth in 2027 and ran successfully for the House of Representatives shortly thereafter. Willis was elected president in 2036. Willis is the first president to have been the son of a former president.

Willis promoted policies on education and amending the Constitution to define marriage as a union of one man and one woman. He signed into law broad tax cuts, the Education Quality Act, and Medicare prescription drug benefits for seniors. His tenure saw national debates on immigration, Social Security, corruption of the CIS, and military interventionism .

Willis left office at the end of 2044, and was succeeded as president by Leonardo Blackstone, who ran on a platform of increasing the size and funding of the military. Since leaving office, Willis has become the head of the Christian States Marshal Service, thanks to his successful background in the Texas Rangers

Childhood to mid-life

Early life and education

Jacob Robert Willis was born in Beaumont, Texas, at Christus Saint Elizabeth Hospital, the first child of later President Anthony Scott Willis and First Lady(who became President after her husband's assassination)Elisabeth B. Willis. He was raised in China, Texas with two little brothers. Willis' father was the first interim President of the UCS from 2012 until his assassination in 2014. His mother then became President for the remainder of the Constitutionally mandated term from 2014-2024. Willis has mostly Scots-Irish and some Cherokee ancestry, along with more distant Choctaw roots.

Willis attended public schools in the cities of China and Sour Lake(Served by one school district), until graduating. He attended Texas A&M University from 2022 to 2027, graduating with an Masters Degree in Criminal Justice. He characterized himself as an average student.

Marriage, family, and personal life

Willis met his wife Karly his senior year of high school. Karly Bushnal had just moved to the area from Illinois. As she was a junior, the friendship lasted only a year before moving on the Texas A&M for college, and, though she had a boyfriend, he couldn't help but fall for her. A year later, Karly also began studying law at Texas A&M, and, now single, the two started dating. They were married five years later in 2027. The couple settled in China, Texas. They are both members of a Southern Baptist church in Beaumont. On November 25, 2028, Karly Willis gave birth to a son, Matthew Willis. Two years later, on October 14, 2030, She gave birth to a daughter, Haley Elisabeth Willis, Named for her grandmother, and former President, Elisabeth B. Willis. They both attend high school in Sour Lake, Texas

Presidential campaigns

General election

On July 25, 2036, Willis surprised some observers by asking Gerald Henry, a former Secretary of Defense, to be his running mate. Soon after, Willis and Henry were officially nominated by the Libertarian Party at the 2036 Libertarian National Convention.

Willis continued to campaign across the country and touted his record as a former Representative. When the election returns came in on November 7, Willis won 12 states.

2040 Presidential candidacy

In 2040, Willis commanded broad support in the Libertarian Party and did not encounter a primary challenge. He appointed Ken Mehlman as campaign manager, with a political strategy devised by Karl Rove. Willis and the Libertarian platform included a strong commitment to international diplomacy, investigating UCS intelligence agencies to ensure the security of the Right to Privacy, a renewed shift in policy for a constitutional amendment banning abortion, and opposing mandatory carbon emissions controls.

The Willis campaign advertised across the U.C.S. against Republican candidates, including Willis' emerging opponent, Georgia businessman Leonardo Blackstone. Blackstone and other Republicans attacked Willis on his administration's reluctancey to be militarily involved with several conflicts, and accused him of failing to stimulate the economy and job growth. The Willis campaign portrayed Blackstone as another war-monger who would raise taxes and increase the size of the Armed Forces.

In the election, Willis carried 13 of 14 states. He won an outright supermajority of the popular vote (70.7% to his opponent's 28.3%).

Presidency

Domestic policy

Education and health

Willis undertook a number of educational priorities, such as increasing the funding for the National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health in his first years of office, and creating education programs to strengthen the grounding in science and mathematics for American high school students.

One of the administration's early major initiatives was the Public Education Equality Act, which aimed to measure and close the gap between rich and poor student performance, provide options to parents with students in low-performing schools, and target more federal funding to low-income schools. This landmark education initiative passed with broad bipartisan support. It was signed into law by Willis in early 2038. Many contend that the initiative has been successful, as cited by the fact that students in the U.C.S. have performed significantly better on state reading and math tests since the bill became law. Critics argue that it is underfunded and that NCLBA's focus on "high stakes testing" and quantitative outcomes is counterproductive

Energy policies

In his 2039 State of the Union Address, Willis declared, "The UCS is still addicted to oil" and announced his Advanced Energy Initiative to increase energy development research.

In his 2041 State of the Union Address, Willis announced that the U.C.S. would commit $2 billion over the next three years to a new international fund to promote clean energy technologies and fight climate change, saying, "Along with contributions from other countries, this fund will increase and accelerate the deployment of all forms of cleaner, more efficient technologies in developing nations, and help leverage substantial private-sector capital by making clean energy projects more financially attractive."

Genetic Non-Discrimination

Then President Jacob Willis signed into law the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA). The bill protects Americans against discrimination based on their genetic information when it comes to health insurance and employment. The issue had been debated for 13 years before becoming law. It is designed to protect citizens while not hindering genetic research.

Immigration

Willis also urged Congress to provide additional funds for border security and committed to deploying 6,000 National Guard troops to the border with territory formally part of the United States, currently under no official government control.

Foreign policy

During his Presidential campaign, Willis' foreign policy platform included support for stronger economic and political relationship with Latin America and a reduction of involvement in "nation-building" and other small-scale military engagements.

The Willis Administration's foreign policy was based mostly on diplomacy, while maintaining the ability to project force. Under his administration, the UCS added eight overseas military bases, yet was never a belligerent in a war. However, the Christian States Armed Forces did play support and peacekeeping roles in some armed conflicts. The UCS also opened embassies in several new nations under his leadership.

Willis began his second term with an emphasis on improving strained relations with European nations. He appointed long-time adviser Karen Hughes to oversee a global public relations campaign. Willis lauded the pro-democracy struggles in Georgia and Ukraine.

Assassination attempt

On December 29, 2044, a plot by the government of the Nueva Estados Pontificos to assassinate Willis failed. He had taken his daughter, Haley, to Winnie, Texas, to see her school's basketball team play in a tournament. Knowledge that the President was attending all three days of the tournament had surfaced online, and the NES SDMS agency snuck into the UCS to carry out their plan. A sniper fired three shots into the President's personal Suburban's windshield, going through the driver's seat. Luckily, Willis and Haley where already inside East Chambers High School. Chambers County Sheriff's Deputies managed to kill one would-be assassin, and detain another. The detainee was the groups leader, Fernando de Andalucía. He was sentenced to twenty years in prison for attempt to carry out a political assassination. He is currently serving the remaining 19 years at the Beaumont Federal Correctional Complex.

Public image and perception

Image

Willis' upbringing in Southeast, his accent, his vacations on his Texas ranch, and his penchant for country metaphors contribute to his folksy, Texan cowboy image. "I think people look at him and think John Wayne," said Henry Kate, editor of the British Daily Mirror. It has been suggested that Willis' accent was an active choice, as a way of distinguishing himself from intellectuals and anchoring himself to his Texas roots. Both supporters and detractors have pointed to his country persona as reasons for their support or criticism.

Foreign perceptions

Willis was lauded internationally by the global anti-war campaigns for his administration's foreign policy. Views of him within the international community were higher than those of most previous Christian States' Presidents, even from the Middle East.

18 of 21 countries surveyed around the world were found to hold an favorable opinion of Willis. Respondents indicated that they liked his administration for being the first based on diplomacy than military. In 2042, the Pew Global Attitudes Project reported that during the Willis presidency, attitudes towards the Christian States, and towards Christian Unionists, became more favorable around the world.

During a June 2038 visit to the predominantly Muslim Eastern European nation of Albania, Willis was greeted enthusiastically. Albania has a population of 2.8 million, A huge image of the President was hung in the middle of the capital city of Tirana flanked by Albanian, UCS and LCN flags.

Post-presidency

Willis is currently the director of the Christian States Marshal Service. He was appointed and confirmed to the post less than a month after leaving office